Head of monitoring and evaluation, PACS programme, India

Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of dignity, freedom and hope, of power over their own lives. Christian Aid has a vision – an end to poverty -and we believe that vision can become a reality. Our overarching aim is both very practical and very ambitious: to change the lives of some of the poorest people in the world. We want to see change happen and we want to know that it is tangible. We campaign against the inequalities that keep people poor and we work with local organisations to give people strength to find their own solutions to the problems they face, irrespective of religion or any other consideration.

The Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme (PACS) is an initiative of the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), to work with civil society in India, to help socially excluded groups claim their rights and entitlements more effectively. PACS covers 90 districts in seven states- Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The seven-year programme (2009-2016) supports civil society organisations (CSOs) promoting inclusive policies, programmes and institutions at local, district and state levels. PACS targets socially excluded groups: scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), Muslim minorities, women, girls and people with disability (PwD). For more details please visit www.pacsindia.org

The programme is managed by the IFIRST (Indian Forum for Inclusive Response and Social Transformation) consortium on behalf of DFID. IFIRST is led by Christian Aid, along with Caritas India, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, ACCESS Development Services, and Financial Management Services Foundation.

We are looking for a Head of Monitoring and Evaluation to lead the monitoring and evaluation portfolio within the PACS programme and provide strategic direction and leadership on programme M&E and impact. The role will contribute to the progress of the PACS Programme towards its strategic goals through result based monitoring, research and evaluation and will provide support to PACS intervention and partners and to capture outcomes, change processes and programme impacts. It will ensure reporting mechanism and processes and provide compliance support to the programme.

Specific responsibilities of the role holder include:

• Ensuring that all projects have appropriate monitoring and reporting indicators and tools in place, in line with PACS requirements
• Leading on the compilation of partners’ narrative and technical reports
• Ensuring that monitoring and reporting systems, including fieldwork, collection of reports and data entry, are correctly implemented
• Overall responsibility to ensure the functioning of MIS
• Analysing emerging data and producing documents including case studies, study briefs, research papers and impact briefs for use by the team
• Leading in the management of independent and external studies, research projects, evaluations, etc. including designing, budgeting, planning for data collection, analysis and report writing
• Initiating change studies- to capture what change looks like
• Ensuring timely documentation and dissemination of key findings from monitoring, evaluation and research for wider usage and advocacy purposes
• Building and managing systems for sharing and learning within PACS and partners
• Supporting the programme team to appropriately format and disseminate programmes result and impact to programme stakeholders (including communities)
• Line and matrix management and implement structured performance management and review cycle of team
• Along with the senior management, leading the component of strategic planning and reviews in coordination with the programme team and immediate stakeholders

You will be a post graduate or equivalent and haveexcellent IT skills, including relevant data management packages, including EpiInfo, SPSS and others.

Experience and skills required

• Minimum of ten years’ experience in development sector
• Minimum of five years’ experience in programme design, monitoring and evaluation, including design of systems and tools, data analysis and report writing
• Experience in designing and leading, on specific research projects
• Strong data analysis skills (quantitative and qualitative)
• Knowledge of monitoring and evaluation against Log Frames
• Familiarity with programme cycle management approaches and tools, including participatory planning and monitoring
• Good understanding on result based management and impact assessment tools
• Excellent report writing skills particularly donor reporting
• Fluent in written and spoken English
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills

Preferable

• Previous work experience in India and national languages
• A clear understanding of contemporary development issues and trends in M&E in the field of international development
• Experience of performance managing people
• Experience of managing multi-site research works
• Knowledge of development issues and current affairs in the region - social exclusion and poverty

Please show your suitability for this post by giving answers to the following questions: Using the guidance notes may help you formulate your answers.

Communicate effectively

Tell us about a time when you had to apply advanced negotiating and influencing skills to secure agreement with a diverse group of people or stakeholders where there was little common ground.

Deliver results

Please tell us about a time when you adapted or amended your original decision because it did not produce the expected or desired result.

Strive for improvement

Please give us an example of when you encouraged other people to identify more creative and innovative solutions to problems.

We value the contribution each person makes to the success of our organisation, so you can expect a range of rewards and benefits that will ensure you enjoy a good work/life balance.

You will require current and valid permission to work in India.

Download the role profile (159 KB pdf)

To apply for this post, please download an application pack and email your completed International application form to:   india-jobs@christian-aid.org   quoting the reference number given below. Alternatively, your completed application form can be printed out and posted to us at:

Change Alliance Pvt Ltd 
D-25-D, South Extension Part II 
New Delhi 
India 110 049

Please also download and complete our International Diversity Monitoring Form

Please note that CVs will not be accepted and that only short-listed candidates will be contacted. If you have not been contacted by 19 May 2014, please assume your application was unsuccessful. Preference will be given to applicants who are Indian nationals or who are eligible to work in India.

Job reference: India/2014/0405

Closing date: 5pm, Sunday 11th May 2014

Interview date: To be confirmed

Christian Aid values diversity and aspires to reflect this in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from all sections of the community, irrespective of caste, race, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief. We encourage applications from socially excluded communities, ie Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, religious minorities, people living with disabilities and especially encourage women candidates to apply.